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WEKU
WEKU
Jeevika Verma

A new dictionary will document the lexicon of African American English

The dictionary aims to be the first to complete the task at this magnitude. (Daniel Grill/Getty Images)

Black Americans have long contributed to the ways in which the English language is used, and now a new research project aims to compile the first Oxford Dictionary of African American English.

"Finally we will have a space that recognizes our language in a way that encompasses all the people within African American language communities," said Sonja Lanehart, a linguistics professor at the University of Arizona who grew up in the South.

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